June 14, 2005

Professor Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in Prague ... subjected more than 300 volunteers to personality profiling while also testing them for toxoplasma.

He found the women infected with toxoplasma spent more money on clothes and were consistently rated as more attractive. “We found they were more easy-going, more warm-hearted, had more friends and cared more about how they looked,” he said. “However, they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men.”

By contrast, the infected men appeared to suffer from the “alley cat” effect: becoming less well groomed undesirable loners who were more willing to fight. They were more likely to be suspicious and jealous. “They tended to dislike following rules,” Flegr said.

So a disease carried by cats makes you act like a cat? That seems awfully bizarre, yet it's hard to shake off the significance of a brain-altering parasite that half of us have -- and 80-90% of French and Germans have!

Actually the idea that Toxoplasmosis is transmitted exclusively through cats is a myth.

You are more likely to get it through handling uncooked meat. It is actually pretty difficult to get it from a cat as it only transfers within minutes after the fecal matter actually leaves the cat.

For more information:http://www.hsus.org/ace/20387

Sorry, I'm just trying to spread the news wherever I can. Too many *doctors* still believe the myth that cats are the main sources of the illness. This results in thousands of cats getting turned out of their homes every year.